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Saudi Arabia

News about Saudi Arabia, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times. More

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, bordered by Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Yemen, is an oil-rich nation that occupies the majority of the Arabian Peninsula. It wields considerable military and political power in Middle Eastern affairs and is the sole Arab nation to be part of the G-20 major economies. Saudi Arabia’s prominence in the Islamic faith is anchored by the Al-Masjid al Haram in Mecca and Al-Masjid an-Nabawi in Medina, the religion’s two holiest sites. The country’s capital city is Riyadh.

Modern Saudi Arabia was unified in the early 20th century by Abdulaziz Ibn Saud, who compelled its Bedouin population to abandon some of their nomadic traditions. The country has remained an absolute monarchy under the House of Saud, which over the course of the 20th century leveraged the nation’s vast oil wealth to pursue stability, international alliances, military power and regional influence. Saudi Arabia remains the world’s leading exporter of oil, boasting one quarter of all known reserves. The fact that oil constitutes 90 percent of the nation’s export economy has led to persistent concerns about economic diversification.

Saudi Arabia’s population is 90 percent Muslim Arab, with the majority belonging to the orthodox Sunni Wahhabi sect. The observance of strict Sharia law has led to ongoing human rights criticism, despite some moves toward liberalization by the monarchy in the wake of the Arab Spring uprisings.

The nation is currently ruled by King Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud, who assumed the throne following the death of his half brother King Abdullah in January 2015. Salman’s early rule has been marked by a military campaign against Houthi rebels in neighboring Yemen.

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